Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says he is preparing to declare a state of emergency to protect his country in the event of an attack by the US military, amid rising tensions over the deployment of American warships to the Caribbean.
In a televised address Monday, he told the country the “consultation process” had begun to declare “a state of external unrest, in accordance with the Constitution, and to protect our people, our peace, and our stability … should Venezuela be attacked by the US empire, militarily attacked.”
The address follows weeks of rising tensions following the US deployment of warships to the Caribbean Sea on what Washington insists is a mission to combat drug trafficking but Caracas believes is aimed at regime change. The US has accused Maduro of involvement in drug trafficking – an allegation he strenuously denies – and recently doubled the bounty for his arrest to $50 million.
Recent US strikes have targeted at least four vessels allegedly carrying drugs, killing more than a dozen suspected traffickers, according to US President Donald Trump, though he has not provided concrete evidence or intelligence confirming that those targeted were criminals.
Earlier Monday, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said the declaration would grant Maduro special powers in the event of a US military incursion.
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